Forgot to close flight plan

By arriving... by when?

By the time forwarded to the tower.

So, if inaction (not arriving) is the cause, then the proximate cause
must be something like a timer going off.

Why?


To give meaning to the part that says "by the time forwarded to the tower".

The tower is sent an "expect arrival at 5:34". At 5:36 the plane arrives.
What is different about the two minutes after 5:34 compared to the two minutes
before 5:34? Just that at 5:34, 5:34 happened, and that is special because it
is an expected arrival time that was not consummated.

So, at least in somebody's mind, an alarm went off at 5:34. No? Otherwise
there is nothing special about the two minutes afterwards, and no search would
be initiated.

That is, unless what you mean is that a search begins any time a handoff fails
under IFR. This is another reasonable interpretation, when "handoff" is
expanded to include "expected position report". But then, each ETA (EPRT)
would function as the "alarm" I am talking about... getting reset every time.

Is this pretty much the way it happens?

Jose

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